Board of Directors

Mr. Fortino is currently Executive Vice President of Metro Ontario Inc., the second largest grocery retailer in Ontario with over 260 stores and 70 pharmacies operating under the Metro and Food Basics banners. He has held several executive level positions that have concentrated on business development, brand and market positioning and new product and service development. He is also a seasoned retail professional with over 30 years of general management experience that have included a focus on supply chain, logistics, merchandising, store design and financial management. Prior to joining Metro in September 2014, Mr. Fortino held the positions of Executive Vice President of Business Development at GNC Holdings Inc., President, North America Operations at Atrium Innovations Inc. and CEO of Seroyal International Inc. He has a deep understanding of the food retail industry in Ontario following several posts at Loblaw Companies Limited, where his tenure included time served as an Officer and Executive Vice President of their Ontario division. Mr. Fortino also proudly served as a Governor for Mohawk College, and a Director of GNC Holdings Inc., from 2007 through 2011.

Dr. Gabriele is the founder, inventor and visionary behind the Delivra™ technology. Dr. Gabriele has devoted the past eight years to innovation, development, and commercialization activities at Delivra, and in addition to providing guidance and vision for Delivra, he actively stewards its robust R&D program. He has a doctorate in molecular pharmacology and is an Assistant Professor (PT), McMaster University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, as well as Special Graduate Faculty, University of Guelph, Department of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Gabriele received a B.Sc from the University of Toronto, with M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from McMaster University. Dr. Gabriele’s Ph.D. training was conducted under Dr. R.K. Mishra, focusing on molecular pharmacology/neuroscience and its implications in psychiatric and neurological disorders. He has received numerous awards, including a CIHR studentship award in pharmacology during his M.Sc. degree; an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship during his Ph.D. training; and the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, Young Investigator Award.

Jeff HullDirector (since June 2012)

Mr. Hull has been in the investment industry for over 24 years and currently holds the title of Senior Financial Advisor, Manulife Securities Incorporated. Manulife is one of Canada’s largest financial conglomerates. Mr. Hull has been featured in over 80 articles and 100 television interviews globally. Mr. Hull was an owner in one of Canada’s largest privately-held financial institutions, which grew from $50 million to over $14 billion in assets under management in less than 10 years. Mr. Hull serves on the Board of Directors of the NATO Association of Canada. Mr. Hull has been written about in a number of business books, including having a chapter dedicated to him in a book on legendary investing billionaire Warren Buffett. Mr. Hull’s entrepreneurial portfolio includes personal investments in an array of private businesses, including in the medical, scientific, and broadcast television industries.

Nitin KaushalDirector (since August 2015)

Mr. Kaushal has over 25 years of healthcare, financial and investment experience, across North America, spanning life sciences, consumer healthcare, healthcare services and medical device industries. He is presently a Managing Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the corporate finance practice. Over the course of his career, Mr. Kaushal has held various senior roles in venture capital, investment banking, M&A, technology licensing, auditing and consulting. He has sourced, managed and assisted in capital market transactions ranging from private placements and initial public offerings to bought deal underwritings in excess of $2 billion, and has performed on over 40 mergers, acquisitions, strategic advisory and licensing assignments. Mr. Kaushal has extensive public company Board and committee experience and is currently a director of Patient Home Monitoring Corp., Convalo Health International Corp., Global Gardens Group Inc., and Shelby Ventures Inc. Mr. Kaushal received his C.A. designation in 1989 and his CF designation in 2010, from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, and has a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) degree from the University of Toronto (1986).

Paul G. Smith, ICD.DDirector (since November 2014)

Over his career, Paul G. Smith has held the positions of CFO, CEO, director and Chairman. Mr. Smith was Chair of VIA Rail Canada’s Board of Directors from 2010 to 2014 after having joined the board in September 2006 and was President & CEO of Equity Financial Holdings Inc. (TSX: EQI), a Canadian financial services firm he co-founded whose principal subsidiary is an OSFI-regulated deposit-taking institution. Mr. Smith is a director of several other companies and before joining the private sector, served as Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister of Canada. Mr. Smith holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD (France), a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University, and undergraduate degrees (Accounting, Political Science) from the University of Ottawa. Mr. Smith completed the Directors’ Education Program of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and holds the ICD.D designation.

David T. ThibodeauDirector (since April 2016)

As Managing Director of Boston-based Wellvest Capital, Mr. Thibodeau is a seasoned corporate finance executive within the wellness industry, with a successful history of entrepreneurship, corporate strategy, growth management, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions. He was an early player in the consumer health and wellness sector, where he has developed a particular expertise over the last 25+ years. Prior to Wellvest Capital, Mr. Thibodeau spent 10 years at the investment bank Canaccord Genuity (formerly Adams, Harkness and Hill). As the head of the Health, Wellness and Lifestyle corporate finance group, he focused on mergers, acquisitions, public and private financings. Mr. Thibodeau led the evolution of the firm’s Healthy Living practice into the broader and more robust Health, Wellness and Lifestyle sector. Over that time, Mr. Thibodeau was an advisor on many of the industry’s leading and transformative M&A transactions that have helped define the evolution of the emerging wellness industry. Examples of these transactions include ZonePerfect Nutrition and EAS sale to Abbott Laboratories, Metagenics joint venture with Alticor, Martek Bioscience’s purchase of Amerifit Nutrition, Garden of Life’s sale to Atrium Innovations, SunPure’s sale to Kerry Group PLC, Pure World’s sale to Naturex SA, and Imagine Foods sale to Hain Celestial Group.

Louisa Greco(Since June 2017)

Louisa is an energetic business leader who has led in progressively senior roles across healthcare, in small molecule, large molecule and consumer businesses. In pharmaceuticals, she has effectively bridged strategy and science, to enable innovative, market-leading solutions with internal partners and external stakeholders. Most recently, she served as President & Managing Director of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Group of Companies in Canada. Under her leadership, the business achieved number one ranking in the Advantage Survey, an external customer evaluation, in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, the business was recognized as a Top 100 Employer and a Top 10 Brand in Canada, both first time achievements. She is passionate about building teams, advancing innovation and leveraging analytics and tech as central to business strategy. She stands out for her commitment to building talent, for her courage and her compassion.

Louisa has held roles as a board member on multiple industry associations and served as Honorary Chair for the Princess Margaret OneWalk in 2013, 2014 and 2015. She serves as a member of 30% Club Canada Advisory Committee and the Women in Philanthropy for Providence Advisory Team.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and a Master’s of Business Administration, from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. She has provided mentorship through the Ivey Business School, Women in Management Program and is an Academic Mentor for the Rotman School of Management MBA program.